The Awareness and Incidence of Repetitive Strain Injuries in The Computer Graphic Industries in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

In this paper, the awareness and incidence of repetitive strain injuries (RSI) in the computer graphic industries were examined using data collected from 30 computer graphic designers across different firms in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study shows that 36.7% of the designers were not aware of RSI, and only 33.3% of those that were aware were taking conscious effort on reducing the symptoms. Most of the designers, 73.4%, make use of their computers 8 to 10 hours per day and very few (3.3%) take time to observe breaks while working. Majority get so immersed in their work on the computer that they forget about time. The study also shows that a lot of the designers do not maintain good posture while working. Overall, ignorance was observed to be the major risk factor for RSI. Hence, it is necessary to educate and raise alertness on the incidence of RSI in the computer graphic industry in order to prevent further increase of the problem.

Keywords: repetitive strain injury, computer graphic industry, Lagos state, Nigeria